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Paganism Not Abolished 

IN THE 

ROMAN EMPIRE, OR THE 
CHRISTIAN WORLD. 

A LECTURE, 



CHARLES EAKL PRESTON. 

Delivered in Boston, Feb. 6th ; New Bedford, April 23rd ; 
and Lawrence, Mass., Oct. 16th, 1881. 



THY WORD IS TRUTH. 




71ic Solid Foundation of Profestaniisni. 



BOSTON, MASS. 

1881.' 
W. Kkllaway, Book Printer, 194 Washington Street, Boston. 




Copyrighted by Charles Earl Preston, 1881. 



PRICE FIFTEEN CEXTS. 





ot Abolished 



ROMAN EMPIRE, OR THE 
CHRISTIAN WORLD. 



A LECTURE. 



CHAELES EARL PEESTON^. 

Delivered in Boston, Feb. 6th ; New Bedford, April 23rd ; 
and Lawrence, Mass., Oct. 16th, 1881. 



" THY WORD IS TRL'TH. 



'9 




The Solid Foundatioti of Protestantism. 



BOSTON, MASS. 

1881. 
W. Kellaway, Book Printer, 194 Washington Street, Boston. 



is^iir.%^^ 



PAGANISM NOT ABOLISHED 



EOMAN EMPIRE, OK CERISTIAN WOELD, 



Brethren akd Friends : — The announcement made in 
the proposition demands a few preliminary thoughts, and 
I trust you will bear with me while I give expression to 
the same. 

I sorrow that there should be cause necessitating such a 
discourse in this enlightened nineteenth century ; and 
especially in this our country, which has so long been 
the pride and glory of the Eeformation — emphatically, 
Protestant America ! 

I appear before you an anti-Ritualist ; but before pro- 
ceeding, desire you to understand this position is not 
taken by me for the sake of being an anti-Eitualist, much 
less for publicity, notoriety or sensational advantage. 

I have shaken off the charming incumbrance of Ritualism 
(that weight of ages), and stepped to the front in defence 
of primitive and apostolical Christianity ! 

But I purpose not, either to disregard aught of existing 
good which may be found in all parts of the Church, or to 
appear as an apologist for one or more of its parties. I 
simply come before you to reveal and warn against the 
secret, underlying current of Ritualism — fast reaching its 
way into the professed Protestant Church. 

The task is painful, — I say, painful, because some of my 



4 PAGANISM NOT ABOLISHED IN THE- 

brethren in various parts of the Church must necessarily 
be oiFended : those perfectly honest but blinded, as 
I also myself once was, will doubtless depart from here 
in sadness. 

Now, while I speak of unseen evils prevalent in the 
Church, I would be the last to rudely pronounce judg- 
ment, or assert apostasy ; or to anathematize my brethren 
who have been led into the erroneous delusions to which 
I allude. Nay, let me remark that I believe that the men 
who are at the head of the movements in America (that is 
the rectors of the leading churches which I shall name), 
are Christians of exceptional worth, good and zealous 
men, but "carried away" with an unperceived delusion. 
Once for all, individuals are not in question, but a system 
of professed Christianity. 

These alarming things, which it is time to reveal, are 
worthy of your earnest consideration and momentous 
attention. 

And though my brethren may denounce me as heretical, 
and say I have grievously apostatized from the faith and 
truth of the Church ; yet, regarding their position equally 
as heretical and dangerous, I feel it to be my undoubted 
duty (as it is certainly my privilege in this land of 
freedom of conscience and religious thought) , to speak of 
those things which so threaten the peace and comparative 
prosperity of our Protestant Church. 

I now ask your earnest prayers and attention. 

You will find the foundation of my remarks in St. 
Paul's first Epistle to the Thessalonians, first chapter, and 
ninth and tenth verses (I Thess. 1 : 9, 10) : — 

" Ye turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God, and 
to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, . . . 
Jesus." 

Paganism rio^ abolished, on that which is now called 



EOMAN EMPIRE, OR THE CHRISTIAN WORLD. 

'* Christian soil" ; a strange assertion, yet a true one, as 
I proceed to prove. 

The circumstances under which these inspired words of 
Holy Scripture were written, were somewhat as follow : 
The greater number of the little band called '' the Church" 
at Thessalonica, had been, previous to their acceptation of 
the Gospel, heathen Gentiles, and thus the holy apostle, 
speaking of their past condition — that of ' ' worshiping 
dumb idols," contrasts it with their present— that of 
serving the living and true God, and consequently holds 
out to them a hope of reward for their present service. 

It is now more than eighteen hundred years since the 
introduction of the only perfect and successful religion. 
Previous to, and at the foundation of this system, the 
whole world, with the exception of a few of Abraham's 
descendants, was lying in the darkness of heathendom. 
The great object of Christianity was to abolish the worship 
of dumb idols, "gods that see and hear not," lifeless gods ; 
and to establish among mankind the worship of the true 
and living God ; to reconcile to God through the media- 
tion of His Son, the Founder of tjiis true religion, the 
whole human family. The " Revealer of God" to flesh, and 
"God revealed" in flesh, as the foundation for the future 
immortality of the race ("as many as believe"), was the 
immutable design of the Infinite. 

It will be well, in order that we may clearly apprehend 
our subject, to notice briefly the false systems of Pagan 
philosophy, the outgrowth of which (as personal fame) , 
has resulted the grossest idolatry. 

Among the list of heathen philosophers perhaps there is 
none older than Zoroaster, who flourished about 1500 B.C. 
His work, the "Zend Avesta" (Zoroastrian scriptures), 
was held in high esteem among his native people, the Per- 
sians. The principles therein advocated are two con- 



6 PAGANISM NOT ABOLISHED IN THE 

flicting elements, good and evil; the former eventually 
prevailing, and the latter cast into the darkness whence it 
originated, with all infernal beings. He was probably, 
as reputed, an extraordinary man ; at once a legislator, 
prophet, pontiff and philosopher ; and lived nearly con- 
temporary with Cyrus, king of Persia. 

Next came Pythagoras, the celebrated philosopher of 
antiquity, born at Samos, Asia Minor. The date of his 
birth is uncertain, but is conceded by nearly all to have 
been previous to the appearance of Buddha. He is said 
to have been the first who made use of the term ' ' philoso- 
pher," applying it to himself; and was considered by his 
contemporaries as standing in close connection with the 
gods. He travelled much, even into Egypt, Arabia, 
Judea, Babylon and India ; from which, doubtless, his 
wide range of teachings sprang. He made great discov- 
eries in astronomy, mathematics and music. His char- 
acter was that of a priest, as well as a philosopher; 
always desiring to have influence over the minds of his 
fellow-men. He was the founder and leader of a secret 
brotherhood called after his name. He became quite 
famous ; and in his riper years moved to Italy, where he 
died. 

Then followed Buddha — "the awakened," or ** en- 
lightened," — founder of the Buddhist religion. He ap- 
peared in the sixth century b. c. The worship ho in- 
augurated was originally atheistic — humane and moral, 
but long since has become idolatrous, its founder and 
kindred beings being worshiped. Its adherents are found 
in Central and Eastern Asia and in the Indian Islands. 

The next teacher, and one of the most noted, was 
Confucius, the Chinese philosopher, born in 551 B.C. An 
ancient tradition records his birth as miraculous. It de- 
clares, that just previous to that birth there was left in a 



ROMAN EMPIRE, OR THE CHRISTIAN WORLD. 7 

garden by a supernatural being a stone, upon which was 
written, "A child is about to be born, as pure as the 
crystal wave ; he shall be a king without any domain 
[that is, * territorial domain']." He became a public 
teacher at the age of twenty-two, and died in 478 b. c. — 
eight years before the birth of Socrates. Hence the 
world was eight years without a Pagan philosopher ! 

The next character was Socrates, founder of the 
Grecian philosophy, whom Cicero has styled the '' Father 
of philosophy." He was born at Athens in 470 B. c. 
Most all are familiar with the remarkable history of the 
latter part of his life ; his prolonged conversations upon 
the notion of the immortality of the soul (upon which 
doubtless he was the greatest reasoner) ; and last, his 
enforced death by the drinking of poison. 

Next we see Plato — " broad ;" so named by his father 
on account of the broadness of his physical frame. He 
was born in 429 b. c. At twenty years of age he be- 
came a pupil of Socrates, and was a faithful scholar until 
his death. He traveled much among the Eastern nations, 
from whom he gained a knowledge of Zoroastrian lit- 
erature ; and it is not improbable that his travels resulted 
in a wider diffusion of Egyptian mythology. He doubt- 
less put in form, for later posterity, the great doctrine 
taught by Socrates, the immortality of the soul, as it has 
since been called '^Platonism." It is said he was writinof 
when he died. 

From this same school Aristotle dates his rise. He 
was born 384 b. c. Plato, to whom he was long a pupil, 
called him the ' * intellect " of his school. He has been 
said by some writers to have been ' « the most remarkable 
man that ever lived." 

I have now given a brief summary of Heathen phil- 
osophers. 



8 PAGANISM NOT ABOLISHED IN THE 

Philosophy, and consequent idolatry, at the time of the 
introduction of our holy religion (Christianity) into the 
world, had its seat at the capital of the Roman empire and 
of the Western world — Eome I That mighty city ! — 
Mistress of the world ! — founded in 753 B.C., whose walls, 
at first four miles in circumference, had in them three 
gates, spread in the time of Pliny to twenty miles and 
thirty-seven gates ; at present, about fourteen or fifteen 
miles, with sixteen gates, some however built up. In 
whose heart centered thirty-one public roads, having 
twenty Pagan temples, the principal being those of 
Jupiter, Minerva and Juno ; its theatres in full blast, and 
its double theatre, *' amphitheatre," erected by Titus, the 
spectacle of pleasure for sensual Romans; its Coliseum 
— named from a colossal statue of Nero near by, — - the 
scene of all manner of « « beast fights ; " the seat of 
Grecian and Corinthian art, transferred in honor to the 
seat of the emperor; a city filled with riches and ar- 
tistic skill, consequent upon the conquests of Philip of 
Macedon and Antiochus of Syria, — there was where 
Paganism flourished ! 

While afiairs were in this condition in the world, the 
silent breathings of Bethlehem's Babe, Calvary's Victim, 
and Olivet's Victorious Ascender, reached the ears of 
benighted Pagans. 

The Romans being connected with Palestine, Jews had 
emigrated' to Rome, and were allowed by three of the 
Csesars— Julius, Augustus and Tiberius, — to set up their 
worship in that city ; and doubtless some of them there 
heard the "good news" of transactions in their native 
land, for which they immediately set out. There arrived, 
they were numbered among the ' ' strangers " who assem- 
bled at the first church-gathering on Pentecost ; and prob- 
ably on their return to Rome introduced Christianity into 



ROMAN EMPIRE, OR THE CHRISTIAN WORLD. 9 

the capital of the world. This is not mere hypothesis, 
for St. Paul, on his first visit to Rome, found there Jews 
who had believed in Jesus as the Messiah. 

Those who had in any way accepted the new Revela- 
tion, whether Jews or Gentiles, sufiered persecutions 
and martyrdom for its sake under the reign of thirty- 
eight Pagan emperors. 

The tyrannical tortures of Nero and others, who com- 
manded that Christians should be bound in skins and 
thrown to Avild beasts, and wrapt in inflammable robes to be 
burnt as torches to light the night-games of revelry and 
wickedness, need not here be pictured. 

Eventually, there came a radical change in the name of 
things. 

Constantine, the last Pagan emperor, became convinced 
of the Divine authority of Christianity, and was willing to 
be called by the humble Name first heard at Antioch. 

At this time the Church was under Episcopal govern- 
ment (that is, was governed by bishops), and a number 
of these bishops were those who have long since been 
called church "fathers." These men (probably most of 
them had been converted from Paganism) had brought 
into the Church the- prevalent heathen ideas of altar, 
sacrifice, and priesthood (originally Jewish, but entirely 
^^ done away''' in Christ), and applied them to various 
things to which they were best adapted. Thus, not being^ 
under the necessity of giving up Paganism entirely, Con- 
stantine the more readily accepted Christianity. 

Then came one of the greatest epochs known in history^ 
— heathen temples were converted into Christian churches, 
and the magnificent buildings used for public purposes, 
such as meetings of the senate, counsellors' client-rooms, 
and bankers' places of business, were made places of 
Christian worship. Constantine gave his own palace on 



10 PAGANISM NOT ABOLISHED IN THE 

one of the "seven hills" for the site of a Christian 
temple, and the original St. Peter's church, which stood 
for twelve centuries, Avas built upon the ruins of temples 
consecrated to Apollo and Mars. 

At this time Symbolism, in its various attractive forms, 
came into the Church like a flood ; in fact, the Church 
accepted the glory of the world, — that which her Head, 
our blessed Lord, rejected, — and became an idolatrous 
and adulterous bride. 

Paganism was transferred into Christianity! Phil- 
osophy, which has ever accompanied idolatry (since its 
development into it), was introduced, and the very title 
ascribed to the emperor, Pontifex Maximus, — the master 
In'idge-builder, — was received by the assumed head of 
the Church. And so much was the new system like the 
old, that Julian, called by the Catholic church '*the 
Apostate,'^ thought he would make a clear work of the 
matter, and return ^ — which he did ! 

Rome, the former seat of Heathendom, has since been 
knowm as the seat of Pagan Christianity ! 

I have now elucidated my proposition, and it has driven 
me on to Christian soil. 

This was that age called the '*age of councils," when 
/'undivided [Pagan] Christendom" was in its glory. 

The most noted of all the councils was that of Mcea, 
in 325, when between two hundred and nineteen and two 
hundred and fifty bishops, with Constantine in the chair, 
(and from their ideas of regeneration a Pagan emperor 
still, an imbaptized man, not a Christian), met to discuss 
and denounce the so-called ^rian heresy, and to frame 
the " infallible " belief of universal Christendom. 

These so-called ' ' early fathers " (who doubtless were 
good, honest, Chris&n men), w^ere deluded with the idea 
that the responsibility of the Church to all time was upon 



ROMAN EMPIRE, OR THE CHRISTIAN WORLD. 11 

them — that her prosperity or adversity rested upon their 
shoulders ! Here the Church had lost sight of the sim- 
plicity of the Gospel, and mtroduced countless erroneous 
traditions and practices, to which the fathers almost unani- 
mously consented. 

This was that blissful (?) period to which the Oxford 
divines of 1833 would (under pretence) have us Pro- 
testants look! ''Blissful period!" I say; when, out of 
thirty-eight arbitrary councils, — from that of Alexandria 
in 322, to that of Constantinople in 381, — nineteen were 
orthodox and nineteen heretical ! A period when there 
was never more superstition, distraction and confusion; 
one bishop, or spiritual head of the Church, condemning 
and excommunicating the other ! Let me give a picture 
of the condition of the Nicene age from the best au- 
thorities, — the early fathers themselves, — the age to which 
these professed Protestants of Oxford desire to return. 
Listen to the illustrious fathers ! Cyril, bishop of Jeru- 
salem, writes: "Formerly, indeed, there were open 
heretics ; but now the Church is filled with concealed 
heretics." One of the Gregorys writes: " Xor do the 
people behave in one way and the priest in another ; but 
rather thai saying seems to be wholly fulfilled which was 
uttered in reproach, ' The priest is become as the people.' " 
Ao^ain : " But now there is a dano^er lest the order which 
is the holiest of all, should become the most ridiculous of 
all." Augustine writes : " When we see those who are the 
strength of the Church yielding for the most part to 
offences, does not the body of Christ say, ' An enemy is 
breaking my bones?'" Usebius, the early historian, 
writes, that on account of the too great "laxity of dis- 
cipline, men fell into . . . slothfulness, envying and 
abusing one another, and not only making war upon each 
other with arms and spears in the place of words, the 



12 PAGANISM NOT ABOLISHED IN THE 

rulers opposing rulers, and the people disputing with the 
people." Basil says: "Because iniquity has multiplied, 
the love of many has waxed cold ; for now nothing is so 
rare as to meet with a spiritual brother." And last, the 
canonized John Chrysostom gives an appalling picture of 
that churchly era, that would make the lowest and meanest 
dissenter (ultra-Protestant) shudder. Depravity abounded ! 
He writes : "The tribunals and laws are of no use, nor 
are instructors, fathers or teachers : some are corrupted by 
money, others only think of being paid what is due them." 
He continues, saying, the good were "very few," and 
that they were " hidden in the multitude of the wicked." 
Their corrupt and obscene conduct was especially seen in 
the services of the Church. This is what may be called 
The Churchman's Millenium ! May God deliver us from 
such a state of affairs in this enlightened century. Pag- 
anism at this time had taken another form, and from 
thence down through the centuries of persecution, dark- 
ness and oppression reigned, — till the golden aurora of the 
Reformation it was rampant. I say, "rampant;" for it 
has still existed in a milder form in some of the reformed 
churches, — they have never entirely freed themselves 
from the ecclesiastical corruptions of that age. 

From the heathen darkness of the fourth century, 
Roman Catholicism dates its birth. Popery was in its 
infancy. Paganism was ripening in a new system ! The 
Church of Christ became a receptacle for idolatry. Soon, 
the holding of men's persons in admiration, and the 
worshiping of pictures and images were introduced. It 
has been said by some ancient writers, that one could not 
distinguish between a Christian building and a Pagan 
temple from the arts displayed, only by some of the 
characters. 



ROMAN EMPIRE, OR THE CHRISTIANS' WORLD. 13 

Roman Catholicism was, and is but Paganism, with 
Christ attached to it! 

Through the long centuries of cruelty and ecclesiastical 
despotism, the Pagan fruits of the fourth century have 
been harvested ; and noAV since the Church, or rather a 
portion of it, has enjoyed a few centuries of the light of 
Gospel liberty, there is an element " after the working of 
Satan," within the very bosom of the Protestant Church, 
striving to get us back into Papal bondage. 

The most grievous part of my task is now before me. 

Up to the time of the second quarter of the present 
century, nearly all attempts to decoy Protestants back into 
Rome were fruitless. 

About the year 1833, the Oxford, or Tractarian move- 
ment appeared, when there was a professed agitation of 
doctrines held in the Church previous to the Reforma- 
tion. This movement, which took an entire Protestant 
method of working — that of scattering tracts (from which 
it derived its name '' Tractarian''), appeared, for the 
blinding of Churchmen's eyes, to be opposed to Rome ; 
yet holding many of her doctrines, which they asserted 
had become corrupted. It finally, after a few years of 
seed-sowing, developed its opposition to Rome by gather- 
'ing in a rich harvest for the pope ! This work was of 
no minor importance, for it swept off the very best of 
Oxford. 

A few 3'ears later, there appeared another movement in 
Europe — unlike the Oxford (entirely un-churchly, and 
evangelical in character) — which has assumed alarming 
proportions ; and arrogated to itself that honored title 
of Nicene origin, over which three of the oldest estab- 
lished portions of Christendom are contending, namely : 
" One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church." 



14 PAGANISM NOT ABOLISHED IN THE 

These two movements may be termed emphatically, 
the offspring of the last century. They were doubtless 
brought about as a result of the state of religious society 
consequent upon the upheavings of the French Eevolu- 
tion. They both seemed to ripen for work nearly con- 
temporaneously, are still living and progressing, and so 
long as they continue to live, they mean death to Protes- 
tantism ! One claiming to be especially ' ' Catholic and 
fearless ; " the other Apostolical and Primitive ! One 
holding out to Protestants, as an ideal, the Church of the 
fathers, of Chrysostom, Ambrose, Augustine and Jerome ; 
the other holding out the Church of an assumed Restored 
Apostolate, with all the machinery of Judaism and Rome 
combined ! One under the leadership of Newman, Pusey, 
Palmer, and others ; the other under Irving, Drummond, 
Woodhouse, and others. 

We do not reflect in any way upon the parties con- 
nected with these movements. The "Brothers of the Ora- 
tory " were men of intelligence, rank and culture. No 
one can put his finger on any lack of integrity and honest 
purpose in the works of Dr. Pusey. Indeed, we should 
esteem him as one of Eno^land's briofhtest scholastic 
stars. JSTeither can any man say that the noble Edward 
Irving, who attracted to his superior orations the nobility 
and talent of England, was insincere. No, we find noth- 
ing against the men ; but we discover poison in their 
principles. While we respect their motives, we should 
not believe them to be safe theologians. Speaking of 
this, one of the greatest anti-Catholic divines of the day, 
upon an occasion, said : " We do not hate Roman Catho- 
lics ; we do not hate Dr. Newman. I would go to 
Birmingham and back again, in order to do him a ser- 
vice ; and am quite sure that there is not one of you, 
however much you may deplore the errors of which he is 



EOMAN EMPIRE, OR THE CHRISTIAN WORLD. 15 

a victim, who would not sacrifice and suffer in order to 
emancipate him. And we all feel what is so true, that any 
man's creed, however erroneous it may be, does not 
authorize us to treat him who adopts it with contempt, or 
visit him with proscription or persecution, or bad usage 
of any kind. . . . We pity the men ; we do hate their 
principles. We distinguish between men who are the 
unhapp}^ victims, and those deadly principles of which 
they are industrious and active exponents." These, I be- 
lieve, should be our feelings in regard to the people con- 
nected with these movements. Let us pity them, that 
they have been so deceived, and do all we can to suppress 
their principles. 

Oxford Episcopalianism, in its underlying work of 
proselyting, declares, that "to oppose ultra-Protestantism 
is not to favor Popery ! " The so-called Catholic Apos- 
tolicals assert, that the abuse of such good (?) things as 
Symbols, Vestments, etc., by Papists, does not exempt 
us from responsibility to use them ! 

It will not be out of place to here notice some of their 
inconsistancies. First, those of Episcopalianism. It is ?io^ 
popish to bow at the Name of Jesus, at the mention of 
the Incarnation, in the Creeds ; but it is at any other 
time ! It is not popish to use the Sign of the Cross in 
Baptism ; but it is to use it on other occasions ! It is not 
popish to baptize infants ; but to say that they derive 
benefit in Baptism is decidedly popish ! It is not popish 
to bow at the Altar ; but to speak of it with reverence is 
a sure mark of popery ! 

Now, those of so-called Catholic Apostolicity. It is not 
popery to speak of water as being a Symbol, but it is to 
speak of it as being a Sacrament I It is not popery to use 
water at Church ; but it is to have it in bottles for home 
use ! It is not popery to use the Sign of the Cross in 



16 PAGANISM NOT ABOLISHED IN THE 

Baptism, Confirmation, Anointing, and with Holy Water; 
but it is to use it commonly as a Christian charm. It is not 
popery to raise the Sacrament in " Consecration;" but it 
is to speak of it as the ' ' Elevation of the Host ! " It is 
not popish to incense the Altar ; but it is the very essence 
of popery to incense men ! 

These are a few of the pretences of the two systems ; 
their absurdity can be seen at a glance ! The last named 
is probably making the greatest progress among Protes- 
tants. My hearers ! imagine for one moment the mem- 
bers connected with the Apostolate of the Incarnation, 
on entering a church, plunging their fingers into holy 
water, — bowing at what is likely to be a dry goods' box, 
covered with ecclesiastical drapery, or perhaps a few 
marble slabs, — trotting about investments (skirt attire), 
carrying a tallow candle, lighting lamps and extinguishing 
them, swinging incense before a pile of boards called the 
*'holy wall," using every form of posture, and repeating 
Scripture in a sing-song "tone," and many other such 
things, and you will have before you the work considered 
by thousands of Christendom to be especially authorized 
of God as a Primitive and Apostolical movement ! Its 
Liturgy, supposed to be adapted to the present con- 
dition of the Church, the greater part of which is taken 
almost verbatim from the Prayer Book of King Edward 
YL, and its high order of "Archangel" conferred upon 
many in Catholic countries, are also pleasant induce- 
ments held out to Protestants ! 

Eitualism, my friends, is the threatening foe of the 
nineteenth century ! Its pretences are a revival of Mcene 
theology ! It is a re-tracing of steps, rather than a press- 
ing forward. 

The Nicene church is no pattern for us. We should 
look to the Apostolic, upon which our noble reformers 



ROMAN EMPIRE, OR THE CHRISTIAN^ WORLD. 17 

built, — Luther, Eidley, Cranmer and Knox. The latter 
was in harmony with itself, a perfect unity j while the 
former was divided against itself, amid the jarring of many 
contending sects. 

Do not imagine, my dear hearers, that Ritualism only 
exists in England and Continental Europe, and conse- 
quently may not trouble you ; for it has long since reached 
our own land — America ! Yes, and still nearer home — 
it has reached 'New EnHand ! Once more — it has reached 
the capital of your own State ! And who can wonder at 
it, when Protestants give it every encouragement? 

It is a fact, that only a few months since a number of 
professed dissenting Protestant clergymen invited one of 
England's Ritualists (of the mould of Pusey), — " one of 
the six Catholics," so ranked within the Anglican Church, 
— to speak some three hours upon the subject of Ritual- 
ism in the city of Boston ! And so interested were the 
priests of his persuasion, that the regular Litany service 
(of the season of Advent) was forgotten and neglected. 
The parishioners, after waiting half an hour in church, 
crossed themselves, bowed to the empty chancel, and de- 
parted to their several homes ' ' miserable sinners ! " 

Is it a fact that ' ' Puritan Boston " is to-da}^ the repre- 
sentative-seat of Ritualism — of Puseyism — the head of 
the *' Catholic movement within the Church of England " 
in America ? Is it a fact that there rests upon the slope 
of Beacon-hill a Puseyite Church (once occupied by Puri- 
tans), the majority of whose members have been evan- 
gelical Protestants? Is it a fact that at the base of the 
same hill land has recently been purchased at the cost 
of fifty-two thousand dollars, and another such Church, 
of more magnificence, is in process of erection? Is it a 
fact that there exists beneath the golden dome of our 
capitol, a Puse3rite Monkery (I use the term "^Monkery" 



18 PAGANISM NOT ABOLISHED IN THE 

on authority of the Boston Herald), with a celibate 
Priesthood, distinguished by Romish cassocks? Is it a 
fact that in the same vicinity there is to be found an 
oro'anized ' ' Sisterhood " after the order of an ecclesias- 
tical female — St. Margaret, whose devoted members are 
peculiarly characterized by gray gowns, black hoods, and 
suspended crosses ? These are facts I 

When this work in its neuclus-form first began in 
Boston, no wonder the bishop (now deceased) considered 
the " ofiensive innovations" there '* in the form of the 
Communion-Table, in the decoration of golden Candle- 
sticks and of a large wooden Cross by which it is sur- 
mounted, and in the posture used in front of it by the 
Assistant Minister ! " Well did he say in a public letter : 
*' Chiefly do I condemn these innovations upon established 
custom because of their pointed and ofiensive resemblance 
to the usages of that idolatrous Papal communion against 
which our Prayer Book [referring to one or more of the 
thirty-nine articles] so strongly protests ; and because 
where a Communion-Table is fitted up like a Romish altar, 
and certain postures are used by the clergy indicative 
of reverence towards the altar, the certain effect of such a 
spectacle is to produce gradually among the congregation 
those very corruptions in regard to the Sacrament of the 
Lord's Supper from which, by the. good providence of 
God, we have been so graciously delivered." Again : 
' ' Those who are familiarized by the officiating minister 
with thQ forms of error, will fall, by an imperceptible but 
sure process, into error itself; and thus our people will 
be led by the very services in which they engage, while 
actually within the bosom of our Protestant Church, into 
doctrinal departures of the most grievous and vital char- 
acter." 

How true have proved his words! The very *'cor- 



roma:n^ empire, or the christian world. 19 

ruptions" which he mentions, concerning the Lord's 
Supper, have long since found their way there ; the early 
Xew England Episcopal faith is scorned as "careless 
Eucharistic doctrine," and the communicants who may 
partake of the elements — every day if they wish, as they 
have six Communions during the week and three upon 
Sunday, — believe them to be '' sacrifices " of Real Body 
and Blood ! Many graduates have left that parish, and 
others are preparing to leave it — for the Roman Catholic 
Church ! It is not long since its first Rector's widow died 
in the fold of the Latin Church ! 

Well did this bishop (on the occasion of his first con- 
firmation there,) manifest his disapprobation of such pro- 
ceedings, while in the chancel, b}^ unpleasant remarks to 
the clergy ! 

All their published " Reviews^"" " Layman's Remarhs^'^ 
^^ Plain Words,'' ""Letters" and ^'•Conversations on 
Ritualism" in refutation of what he said, did not change 
the opinions of the far-sighted, thinking public. 

This Church, the other in Boston, and one at Lawrence 
(where they do not have a " large wooden Cross," but a 
Crucifix) , are doing a good work for Rome. Many others 
outside of Xew England could be mentioned. The 
following, concerning Dr. Ewer's church, ]N"ew York, 
where "high mass" was recently celebrated, is taken 
from the Catholic Mirror: "Dr. Ewer seems to have 
o'limmerino's of a desire for somethino^ more than the 
husks which Protestantism offers, and it seems incredible 
that he and his followers, having sight of the city of 
refuge, should be satisfied with an empty mirage. Ban- 
ners and incense and ceremony are nothing but symbols, 
and worthless symbols without that Real Presence which 
gives them light, color and dignity." This is the Roman- 
ist's careful opinion, which he offers under pretence. 



20 PAGANISM NOT ABOLISHED IN THE 

"The tendency of the Church is upward," say the 
High Church divines (toward Romanism ! ! !) ; and many 
about say that this is only ' ' a development of Sym- 
bolism," and assert that it is "the outcome of an age 
which is both artistic and humane." To prove it, they 
reason from the lofty beautiful of God down to the fancy 
of home adornments ; and others say, that it is mere 
" child's play," and can do no harm. 

Oh , God ! give us men who will protest against these 
erroneous practices ! • They speak to those who have their 
eyes open ; who have ears to hear ! Silent forebodings of 
coming evil are hid beneath them all ! There is danger 
ahead 1 Ritualism ! It is in the wake of Eome ! It is 
in imitation of Rome ! It is Romanism disguised ! 

When my Protestant friends ask me. What is the out- 
come of Ritualism as advocated in America by its two 
late representatives, Mackonochie and Knox-Little, I can 
only answer them by directing them to the past ! Where ? 

Where are its first agitators and advocates to-day, — I 
mean Newman, Pusey, and other Oxford Tractarians? 
Rome alone can answer ! I say, Rome alone can answer ; 
and I assert, in the full strength of recent developments, 
that Puseyism in America is the same as Puseyism in 
England ; Puse} ism in Boston the same as that at Oxford ! 
It is as unchangeable as its mother element ! 

One of Boston's Protestant "fathers" (if I may justly 
allow myself to use the term " Protestant") is a graduate 
of Oxford, the birth-place of Tractarianism ! 

In regard to that school about us who are so ' ' highly " 
advanced in their own minds, and assert that in their 
position there is no tendency towards Rome, let me quote 
what Newman, who was long ago on their advanced plat- 
form., and since a Cardinal in the Romish Church, said, 
(this of course since he advanced the last step) : "Those, 



ROMAN EMPIRE, OR THE CHRISTIAN WORLD. 21 

surely, who have advanced towards the Church (mean-, 
ing Rome), would not have advanced so far as they have 
had they not had sufficient arguments to bring them still 
further ! " He also said : " The first duty of Catholics is 
to house those in who are near their doors ! " 

The Tractarian element is detrimental to all genuine 
Protestantism ! The Reformation is considered to-day 
the same as ever, "a limb badly set," and the '* sooner 
broken " the better ! A superior love for the Latin 
Church is entertained, because she possesses the "Grace 
of Sacraments I " And this is progressing ; its growth is 
remarkable. A popular English writer, in 1850, speaks 
of it as "now spreading from a thousand fountains, and 
by a thousand laborers, through the length and breadth 
of the land." And we can now add, that the laborers 
have increased to thousands ; for only at the last session 
of the Convocation of Canterbury this year, four thousand 
four hundred of the clergy favored toleration of optional 
regulation of ritual (so that each Church could have as 
much ceremony as the Rector wished) , against one thousand 
four hundred opponents ! 

It is gaining ground everywhere^ and through its secret 
operations the Latin Church is being reinforced by in- 
telliofent and cultured members ! Ouoht Protestants to 
stand by and fold their hands in these times ? I think 
not! A foe is yet to be met in our free America which 
will be greater than slavery or intemperance ! 

"Father" Hecker said in a recent lecture : "Catholicism 
rules the city of Xew York with fifty thousand majority ; 
and the question is not now, Will the Catholics ever rule 
America? but. How soon?^' They have long claimed that 
this country belongs to them, because its discoverer was a 
Romanist ! 

Something bearing upon this we have from their own 



22 PAGANISM NOT ABOLISHED IN THE 

lips. The Bhej^lierd of the Valley^ under the supervision 
of Archbishop Kendeick, says : *' We confess that the 
Koman Catholic Church is intolerant — that is to say, that 
it uses all the means in its power for the extirpation of 
error and sin ; but this intolerance is the logical and 
necessary consequence of its infallibility. She alone has 
the right to be intolerant, because she alone has the truth. 
The Church tolerates heretics where she is oblig^ed to do 
so ; but she hates them mortally, and employs all her 
force to secure their annihilation. When the Catholics 
shall here be in possession of a considerable majority — 
which will certainly be the case by and by, although the 
time may long be deferred — then religious liberty will 
have come to an end in the Republic of the United States, 
Our enemies know that we do not pretend to be better 
than our Church, and in what concerns this, her history is 
open to the eyes of all. They know then, how the 
Roman Church dealt with heretics in the Middle Ages, 
and how she deals with them to-day, everywhere she has 
the power. We no more think of denying these historic 
facts than we do of blaming the saints of God and the 
princes of the Church for what they have done or opposed 
in these matters." 

This, my hearers, needs no comment. Oh, that all 
might see, before it is too late, where Ritualism eventually 
leads ! 

The ultimate landing-place of those who are on the 
*' incline plane" towards Romanism is in Romanism! 
Thousands of Ritualism's secret supporters are on their 
way to-day ! 

There are more Jesuits in America than those who 
profess to be, — the latter are only known as such, so as 
to exempt others from suspicion, and hide the real truth. 

I may safely assert, with all respect and deep regret, 



KOMAN EMPIEE, OR THE CHRISTIAN WORLD. 23 

that many of the clergy of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church in our own country are at heart High-churchmen ! 
More than one has tried (and not in every instance un- 
successfully) , to introduce in a Low-church parish the Con- 
fessional, Early Communion, Surpliced Choir, Intoned 
Service, and Altar Cross ! 

And, my friends, not only is this incoming tide of 
Eitualism pervading the Episcopal Church of our land, 
but it is rapidly advancing its way in many fascinating 
forms to the midst of our Evangelical and Unevangelical 
churches I 

I am aware that this statement may sound strange^ but 
it is nevertheless one of truth I 

Through this underlying influence that is stealthily 
creeping about, individuals in these portions of the 
Church are becoming impressed with the delusive idea 
that they have left something in the ' ' Roman dunghill " 
(as Luther called it,) which should be sought and re- 
gained ! 

The doctrines contained in the Creeds are being agi- 
tated. In many things the Apostolical and Nicene fathers 
are being resorted to. Liturgical service is being adopted 
by those who once desired to get as far from it as possible ; 
and certain popish ' ' festiA^al days " are beginning to be 
observed. Characteristic * 'window pictures" (some repre- 
senting our Blessed Lord, the Holy Apostles, and many 
other things,) are being placed in churches. Vestments, 
symbolical in character, are beginning to be worn. A 
flood of ornamental Crosses are finding their wa}^ into 
households and churches ; Catholic hymns, composed in 
the "Churchman's Millennium," are being introduced, and 
many such things are advancing at a rapid rate among us, 
and people are so blind that they cannot see in it all the 
Jesuit hand of Rome ! 



24 PAGANISM NOT ABOLISHED IN THE 

Only this last Lenten season, — I say it with aston- 
ishment and grief, — there were special services held in 
twelve Conofreofationalist churches in Boston ! Sermons 
considered appropriate to the occasion were preached on 
Palm Sunday ; and Passion Week was observed almost" to 
its fullest extent, the communion being celebrated upon the 
assumed day of institution " Holy Thursday ;" and special 
sermons were delivered upon Grood Friday and Easter ! 
Other churches, equally as Evangelical, also followed 
somewhat in the wake of Rome. 

Although the Churchman, not willing to commit himself, 
says that symbolism, etc., will *' only amount to a matter 
of decoration " in these quarters, as "they have no priest- 
hood," yet we may conceive how they may soon have one, 
if things develope as fast as within the last few years ! 

Listen to what a Rector has said since the last great 
festival : " The Roman, Anglican and American Episcopal 
branches of the Holy Catholic Church of history have 
always upheld the proper observance of those days which 
commemorate the life of Jesus Christ on earth. This is 
the peculiarity of the Catholic Church as distinguished 
from the various Protestant sects, who have no Lit- 
urgy. Time was, and not so long ago, when people, in 
their fanatical efforts to abolish all ancient customs, tried 
to sweep away this glorious heritage of the Church. But 
let us all thank God that the days of Puritanic persecution 
are no more. Permit me to say, that /, as a priest of the 
Catholic Church, rejoice to see our Protestant brethren ob- 
serving the festivals of Easter and Christmas, and hail it 
as a favorable omen that they are gradually returning to the 
ancient fold r^ 

Oh, my hearers, such things ought not to be ! We 
need such men as the Mathers, Prince and Edwards, in 
New England, to-day, to set things right ! 



ROMAN EMPIRE, OR THE CHRISTIAN WORLD. 25 

This is food for Kome ! She is only laughing at all 
this ! She has Ions: since said that we would return to her 
by degrees, and she sees sure tokens of it, and I may say 
inevitable tokens, if things continue as they are inclined 
at present ! 

What cares Rome by what means we are brought to 
her, or how her festivals and ritualism are introduced 
into our Churches, so long as they find their way there? 
If we introduce them ourselves, we shall be the better 
prepared for further steps. She is quietly pursuing her 
own mysterious course, and at the same time attentively 
watching the developments of Protestantism. She claims 
us as children ; the experiment of the rod has driven 
us far from her, so now she is determined to employ the 
gentler methods of redeeming us, through the manoeu- 
verinofs of diso^uised embassadors ! Let us show her that 
we are Children of the Reformation, never more to par- 
take of her wrongs ! 

Why will Protestants direct us to the Creeds, one of 
which speaks of a *'Holy Catholic Church," a Church not 
in existence at the time of its compilation ; another begun 
in the fourth century, which did not reach its completion 
till the ninth ; and the third by an orthodox or heterodox 
father (we do not know which, and thought by some to 
have been forged in his name), abounding with '* damna- 
tory clauses," pronounced against those who dare dissent 
from its teachings ? 

Why appeal to the ^'Fathers,'' when the decisions of 
the various early councils would pronounce them orthodox 
one year and heterodox the next, and when upon any one 
point they are seldom found to agree ? 

Why introduce Liturgical Service, — prayers that have 
been ground out for fifteen centuries, — so old and stale 
that one is liable to go to sleep while praying ? Chrysos- 



26 PAGANISM NOT ABOLISHED IN THE 

torn or Ambrose cannot pray for you and me. Their 
prayers were for the centuries in which they lived, and 
not for the nineteenth I We do not undervalue the Book 
of Common Prayer, or any other Liturgy ; but w^e 
should be better without than with them, for the wants 
of the early Christian ages are not our wants. 

Why observe with godly solemnity the Festival Days of 
Paganism transferred into Christianity? The festival of 
" Saturnalia," the 25th of December, when it is a known 
fact that our blessed Lord was not born upon that date ? 
The festival now called Easter, from Astarte, Goddess of 
Love, or Venus of the North? Others denominated 
*' movable feasts," which vary every year, thereby causing 
doubt in the mind of Christendom concerning their exact- 
ness, though ** fixed " by tradition I 

Why introduce '^ Symbolical Pictures,'' which were the 
first stepping-stones of the early Church into Idolatr}^? — 
the sin of the Greek Church to-day ! 

Why desire to wear Vestments, — the Geneva, Doctor's 
or Student's gown, — which are but a second cut from the 
Eomish Cassock, and advancers of the Surplice? Vest- 
ments ! those "rags" and tags "of popery ;" in which, 
as under cloaks of sanctity, have been committed the 
vilest atrocities, and which were for centuries an inqui- 
sitional torture to our martyred Eeformers ! 

Why allow that Pagan instrument of execution — ' 'that 
infamous gibbet," that cursed tree, — the Cross, to enter a 
Church or household where JESUS is worshiped ? What a 
matter of pain it must be to our Blessed Lord, to see His 
professed children continually gazing upon the instrument 
of His cruel death — looking backwards instead of for- 
wards ! The Cross was not the beginning of Christianity 
— its Victim was ! Some about us say it is a symbol; if 
so, then it is one of diabolical wickedness ! It would be just 



ROMAN EMPIRE, OR THE CHRISTIAN WORLD. 27 

as consistent to worship a guillotine, or gallows, as a cross ! 
To hear people talk at the present day, one would suppose 
that nobody was ever crucified but Christ, when many 
others have suffered death upon the cross before and since 
our Saviour ! 

I regret to say, that to-day it is difficult for one to 
distinguish between a Protestant and Eoman Catholic 
Church building from its exterior! Crosses abound on 
almost all alike ; indeed I have seen more crosses upon 
some Protestant Churches than upon Roman Catholic ; 
and when side by side, one would think the Protestant to 
be the Catholic ! 

Our dear Saviour would have us, rather than be con- 
tinually looking at "hay, wood, and stubble," take up 
the crosses of life, which are daily found in our path, and 
*' follow Him," in expectation of an immortal crown! 

Away with your crosses ! Your iron, brass, bronze, 
wooden, marble, wax, paper, — yes, and your picture 
crosses ! If you intend to be Christians of the Apostolic 
stamp, free your churches and households of them ! But 
if you delight in such picture-emblems of cruelty and 
torture, then fill them full of them ! Jesus only en- 
dured the cross, despising the shame, for the glory set 
before Him ; and 7iot because He loved it, or thought 
it a symmetrical form ! 

Why desire to use the Old Hymns, — the " Gloria in 
Excelsis'' and "Te Deum Laudamus,^'' which abound with 
the theological corruptions of their age ? Better sing the 
Psalms, Benedictus Magnificat, or other Scripture se- 
lections ! 

My dear brethren in the Protestant Church ! can it be 
that you are blind? Are you being led, instead of lead- 
ing? Aivake from this condition, and behold the re- 
sponsibilities which demand attention ! 



28 PAGANISM NOT ABOLISHED IN THE 

The drift of Evangelicalism, and I may say that of 
entire Protestantism without exceptions, is toward Ritual- 
ism ! Only a few years since, a Congregationalist Church 
in Connecticut, its pastor and people, went over to Eitual- 
ism. The pulpit was removed ; the front slips taken out, 
and a chancel built ; an altar erected, vestments of popery 
bought, and holy water, lights, and incense introduced ! 
A clergyman of a neighboring Congregationalist Church 
is its present rector I 

This is only one case ; how many more may follow we 
none of us know ! 

Another thing worthy of note. It has been proposed 
recently, by Evangelical clergymen, to have our annual 
State-fast occur upon Good Friday, rather than the usual 
day ! This has been carried in some States 1 

These, my friends, are statements of truth, and is it 
not time to awake ? Should Protestants look on and re- 
main silent? or should they arouse to a sense of their 
duty? The foe in our midst is developing, though its 
workings are imperceptible ; which is in keeping with 
the '' mystery" with which Rome has ever been shrouded. 
Jesuit work has never been open but secret. The truth 
of this is the key to unlock the whole matter ! 

Let us, with one yoicq, protest against Ritualism ; for it 
lies at our very doors ! Reveal what is beneath that 
heavy encumbrance which has weighed down the Church 
for seventeen centuries ! Let us * ' come out " from it all ; 
shake off the coils of this serpent in the grass ; shun 
eyeryform of popery ; give it no countenance : then the 
Anglican movement, having its seat in Boston, and the 
assumed ' « Catholic " movement at New York, will not 
come upon us unawares. And if it should be found to 
exist in our own Churches, let us raise our voices in 
protest ! 



ROMAN EMPIRE, OR THE CHRISTIAN WORLD. 29 

My brethren, turn from your Paganism, your "idols, 
to serve the living and true God !" A sorrowful thought 
would it have been to the holy Apostle, had he known 
that these (his) words could have had an application in 
the professed Christian Church. 

In conclusion, I shall make a few remarks upon the last 
part of the Scripture quotation ; for it is doubtless desired 
b}" this audience that I should do my subject justice. 
The iliducement held out by the great * ' Apostle of the 
Gentiles " to those who were in idolatry, is that which I 
would recommend to my brethren to-day who may be 
bound to some small idol. It is that which enabled the 
first Christians to stand firm and fearless in the hands of 
Roman soldiers, under the cruel reign of Pagan emperors ; 
to endure the pain of scourging and every other torture to 
which they were subjected ; and finally to suffer with 
courage the martyr's death — namely, the joyful hope and 
exalted privilege of waiting *'for His Son [their Lord] 
from heaven !" 

NoAv, had this concluding part of my lecture been de- 
livered in the first two centuries of the Christian era, it 
would not have been (as I sincerely hope it may not now 
be,) considered a sectarian innovation, or in any way a new 
thing ; for they all looked and ' ' waited *' for the Son of 
God *' from heaven !" 

I am glad to say that this faith is being revived in the 
scholastic portions of the Protestant Church. Every 
critical and careful Biblical student, biased or unbiased, 
admits that the whole tenor of the Divine Canon favors this 
primitive idea. The Evangelistic Gospels and Apostolical 
Epistles are overflowing with rich testimonies concerning 
this cheering truth ! 

Thus, in order to become fully acquainted and in sym- 



30 PAGANISM NOT ABOLISHED IN THE 

pathy with this Scriptural position, one must necessarily 
^^ wait for His Son from heaven." We do not wait for 
things which we are not looking for, expecting ; we only 
wait for things which we believe are coming, approaching ! 
So in regard to the coming of the Son of Man ! Human 
instrumentalities can never bring about the glorious apoc- 
alypse of Jesus. 

His sweet parting promise to His dear ones was, that 
if He went away. He would again return to them to take 
them to himself, so that they could be with Him, eternally 
united. Oh, what love is there in the thought that Jesus 
desires us to be close to Him, and this forever ! He 
promised the little representative band, that though they 
should die during the interval of His personal absence. He 
would on His return raise them up "to everlasting life." 

In view of all this, how it must grieve our Blessed Lord 
when He looks down on those of His professed children 
who do not wish to see Him ; who do not desire Him to 
come to them ; are not loving "His appearing." 

It was not till the Church ceased to cherish her dear 
Master's coming, and took her seat in the world, that she 
fell into formality, idolatry and Ritualism. 

Jesus will interpose in behalf of His people, before the 
time of trouble shall come — which is approaching — to "try 
all them that dwell [those interested in the progress of 
union of Church and State,] upon the earth I " 

Oh, turn from all false systems that threaten the 
Protestant Church, — turn (I "beseech you in Christ's 
stead") from your "idols, to serve the living and true 
God, and wait for His Son from heaven/^' 

' ' Paganism [is] not abolished ; " but let us with all our 
energies endeavor to overthrow it, though it appear in 
the Christian forms of assumed Catholicity, Episcopacy, 
or Apostolicity ! 



ROMAN EMPIRE, OR THE CHRISTIAN WORLD. 31 

What I have here said is in love for my Protestant 
brethren who do not see where they are going. I say it 
as one who was blinded by the fog of Ritualism myself, 
and upon the borders of Romanism ; but in the providence 
and mercy of God was snatched from the fate of the 
*' great city" so vividly pictured in the Apocalypse! 
Heaven save us from the dark ages I Let us rally around 
the golden sun of the Reformation — the Bible — and go 
forth to meet the foe ! 

With a heart full of Christian sympathy for those who 
are yet in darkness, I would commend them to the earnest 
prayers of the faithful. And with sincere respect for my 
Roman Catholic, Episcopalian, Catholic Apostolic, and 
ultra-Protestant brethren do I submit these thoughts, 
hoping that some good may be accomplished thereby. 
May we be aroused to a sensibility of our present duty in 
these times of responsibility ; and be found among those 
who are free from idolatry, and waiting for Christ from 
heaven ! 

I leave the proposition before you, ''Paganism not 
abolished in the Roman empire, or the Christian world !" 

"No forms or crosses, nor books had they; 
No gowns of silk, or suits of gray ; 
No creeds to guide them, or MSS. ; 
Their all in all Christ's righteousness." 



In preparation, and to follow, a pamphlet, same size 
and st^de as the present, entitled : — 

PAGANISM TRIUMPHANT IN CHRISTENDOM. 



PEICE FIFTEEN CENTS. 



May be ordered of the Author ; and kept on sale 
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